One of the most beloved and ground-breaking works in the Sondheim cannon, Watch This will present a long awaited season of Company at fortyfivedownstairs in September 2015.
A musical comedy, Company was among the first to deal with adult themes and relationships that explored love and the struggle for intimacy – the original production was nominated for a record 14 Tony Awards, winning six including Best Direction of a Musical for Hal Prince.
It’s Robert’s birthday – he’s turning 35 and his closest friends are throwing him a surprise party. Witty and well-liked, living in the heart of New York and dating three gorgeous women, Robert has it all… so why can’t he blow out the candles on his birthday cake and make a wish?
Over a series of dinner parties and first dates Robert attempts to understand the pros and cons of marriage from his diverse and frequently hilarious friends and begins to make sense of his own persistent bachelorhood. Sondheim windows into the lives of five married couples and three women to explore these ideas in all their complexity.
Under the direction by Kat Henry, musical director by Lucy O’Brien and choreography by Michael Ralph, Company will feature an outstanding ensemble cast of fourteen led by Tyran Parke as Robert and Sally Bourne as Joanne, alongside Gillian Cosgriff Johanna Allen, Bianca Baykara, Nathan Carter, Mark Dickinson, Simon Maiden, Madeleine Mackenzie, Nicole Melloy, John O’Hara, Sonya Suares, Aaron Tsindos and Carina Waye. Design by Eugyeene Teh, Zoë Rouse and Rob Sowinski.
“I’m enormously excited to be working with such a diverse and talented group of artists on a rich and complex look at human relationships,” says director Kat Henry. “Company is as poignant and achingly funny today as it was when it made its Broadway debut in 1970.”
Originally a collection of plays written by librettist George Furth, Company was eventually shaped into a musical thanks to the vision of director Harold Prince. Furth reworked the plays into a libretto and Stephen Sondheim was brought in to provide the music that showcases an energetic score including Being Alive, You Could Drive a Person Crazy, The Ladies Who Lunch, Getting Married Today and Company.
Company
fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Season: 17 September – 4 October 2015 (preview 16 September)
Bookings: (03) 9662 9966 or online at: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
Image: Tyran Parke as Robert in Company – photo by Kate Williams